After intervening in the onion market, the Uttar Pradesh government has now decided to provide relief to consumers from high sugar prices. Against an open-market price of around ₹65 a kg, the state government will sell sugar to consumers at ₹52 a kg.
The subsidised sale will begin in Lucknow and is expected to be extended to other parts of the state. For now, sugar will be available at the Ganna Kisan Sansthan premises in Lucknow at ₹52 a kg.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday reviewed sugar prices with officials of the sugar industry and cane development department and directed them to ensure that consumers were not inconvenienced by the rise in prices.
Following the Chief Minister’s directions, the department will make sugar available at a subsidised rate of ₹52 a kg. Consumers can purchase it from the sales centre of the Sugar Corporation and the Cooperative Sugar Mills Federation at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Ganna Kisan Sansthan premises.
One-kg and two-kg packs have been priced at ₹52 and ₹102, respectively, while five-kg and 50-kg packs will cost ₹250 and ₹2,500, respectively.
Officials said sugar supplied by the Sampurnanagar cooperative sugar mill would be priced slightly differently. One-kg and two-kg packs will cost ₹51 and ₹102, respectively, while five-kg and 50-kg packs have been priced at ₹245 and ₹2,400.
According to the department, the special sale will continue on all working days. Consumers can purchase sugar from the sales centre at the Ganna Kisan Sansthan premises between 10 am and 5 pm. Arrangements have been made at the centre to facilitate purchases, and consumers can buy sugar according to their daily requirements.
The cane development department may extend the subsidised sale to other cities if market conditions do not improve. Officials said sugar prices were likely to remain elevated for some time because of festive demand around Dussehra and Diwali and the absence of fresh sugar arrivals. The subsidised sale is, therefore, expected to continue for the next few days.
The state government had also recently started selling onions at ₹30 a kg through mobile vans at various locations after onion prices rose sharply.
